Sri Lanka national men’s wheelchair tennis team in Italy after finishing in the all-time best sixth place at the World Team Cup: (From left) legendary wheelchair coach Aad Zawan, Tokyo Paralympian Suresh Dharmasena, SLTA President Iqbal bin Issack, Gamini Dissanayake, and Lasantha Ranaweera. (Absent: Head Coach Jagath Welikala and Consultant Coach Guyanga Weerasekera)[/caption]
Sri Lanka national men’s wheelchair tennis team, led by Tokyo Paralympian Suresh Dharmasena, and also includes Lasantha Ranaweera and Gamini Dissanayake, created history in Italy by being placed sixth at the Wheelchair Tennis World Cup aka World Team Cup, organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
The BNP Paribas-sponsored World Team Cup is the premier team competition for wheelchair tennis. The top 16 nations assembled in Sardinia, Italy from 27th September to 4th October 2021 for the annual event this year.
Beaten only by France and Japan
Sri Lanka team this time defeated strong tennis nations such as Brazil, Belgium, and Poland along the way to their sixth-place finish.
Sri Lanka was only beaten by eventual semi-finalist France in the Group stage and former champions Japan, in the final placing tie or the fifth-place playoff.
All three within world’s top 100
The Sri Lankan team comprised of Army war heroes who had been injured during the North and East ‘civil war’ which ended in 2009.
Sergeant Dharmasena who participated at the Tokyo Paralympics this August hails from Kahatagasdigiliya and is ranked No.64 in the current ITF world rankings.
Sergeant Ranaweera, from Pasyala, is ranked No. 85 while Sergeant Dissanayake from Ampara is ranked at No. 81.
A project launched in 2002
The Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA), along with the Sri Lanka Army, had initiated the Wheelchair Tennis Programme in Sri Lanka in 2002 as a social project for injured soldiers under the auspices of the then SLTA Head Suresh Subramaniam.
Head Coach Jagath Welikala has been part of the programme since its inception and has produced of over 30 players who later became internationally ranked, including Upali Rajakaruna who first made break-through in the international stage from the sport for Sri Lanka.
Admirable preparation
SLTA President Iqbal bin Issack, General Secretary Pradeep Goonasekera, its Vice President on Wheelchair Tennis, Major General Shiran Abeysekera, and the main sponsor of the project, Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT), were instrumental in the success of the team in Italy.
The parties sought to house the players this time in Colombo whilst arranging specialist training for the team under Head Coach Welikala, Consultant Coach Guyanga Weerasekera, and European trainer, the legendary wheelchair coach Aad Zawan in the lead up to the Italy World Team Cup.
“The SLTA intends to further invest into the development of its Wheelchair Tennis Programme to fulfil the goal of a Paralympic medal in the next Paralympics, in Paris in 2024,” said an SLTA communiqué early this week.
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Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa (6th from left) and the delegates and guests at the brief awards presentation ceremony in Colombo on Wednesday (6). Photo Sports Ministry[/caption]
Sports Ministry gives a million-rupee each for wheelchair tennis champions
Meanwhile the national men's wheelchair tennis team received a much deserving award from the Sports Ministry on Wednesday (6) in Colombo.
Suresh Dharmasena, Gamini Dissanayake, and Lasantha Ranaweera all received Rs. 1 million each whilst their long-standing Coach Jagath Welikala too was honoured with a cash reward of Rs. 250,000, a Sports Ministry media release revealed.
Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, its Secretary Anuradha Wijekoon, Sports Development Department's Director General Amal Edirisooriya, National Paralympic Committee Secretary Brig. Bandula Bandara, and CEO of Sri Lanka Telecom Lalith Seneviratne took part on the occasion.
"Sri Lanka produced the fastest sprinter of South Asia recently. We have been able to set the South Asian record in high jump. The women's table tennis team became 12th and in volleyball, we have been able to reach among the top 50 in the world," noted Minister Rajapaksa addressing the gathering.
"We wish our wheelchair tennis team that they do not stop at number-6 in the world, but reach beyond that to get to the number-1 position in a very short period of time," the Minister added.